Hedge trimmer



May 26, 1942. E. GRAMPS y 2,284,196

1 HEDGE TRIMMEB ,Filed 'April 17, 1941 2 sheetsheet 1 [lll May 26, 1942. E. GRAMPs 2,284,196

AHmm TRIMMER v Filed April 1'7, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 Erw/H212 Gen/W6'.

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Patented May 26, 1942 UNITEB STATES PATEN ,angles r ortica HEDGE TRIMMER K Edward Gramps, Valparaiso, Ind.

Application April 17, 1941, Serial No. 388,973 s claims.V `(C12. '3o-198) My invention relates to improvements in hedge trimmers and it more especially comprises the features pointed out in the annexed claims.

The purpose of my invention is toy provide aV being trimmed; that uses a relatively sho-rt or longer sickle bar which is attachedgto the arm support by an intervening plate; that has a plurality of ball bearing grooves formed on the upper face of the sickle barV which grooves are on different planes crosswise of the barythat provides retaining means from the knife bar to the sickle bar positioned between the two rows of grooves crosswise of the device; that uses antifriction balls in the lengthwise grooves, between the sickle bar and the knife bar; that has an attachable and detachable driving mechanism for reciprocating the knife bar;.that uses aremovable crank plate on the end-of the driving spindle adaptable to different spindle diameters which plate is connected by a link to theknife bar; that may use a conventional household emery grinder clamped to the sickle bar support; and that takes advantage of the weight of the emery wheel, and its speed ratio to its hand crank, serving as a fly wheel and at the same time leaves the grinder available for use when detached from the trimmer.

With these and other ends in view I illustrate on the accompanyingdrawings such instances of adaptation as will disclose the broad features of the invention without limiting myself to the specific details shown thereon and described herein. y

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my assembled hedge trimmer. l

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of Fig. 2 looking to the left.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the sickle bar with the knife bar above it. Y s

Fig. 5 is an elevation in section through the retaining pin for holding the two bars in operative relation to each other also showing an antifriction ball between the two bars.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged end elevation of the grinder looking towardV the face of the emery wheel.

Fig. 7 is a detached elevation of a modified crank plate.

Fig. 8 is an end elevation partly in' section of the assembled sickle and knife bars with detachable knives and detachable sickles.

In practising my invention I may use any desired alternatives or equivalents of structure that the exigencies of varying conditions mayV demand without departing from the broad spirit of the invention.

To clarify the description I have vchosen to name the underneath bar a sickle bar and the reciprocating bar in antifriction relation to the bottom bar a knife bar. I

Conventional hedge trimmers are manually operated solely by a pairrofV handles, one for each hand. Another type of trimmer has Va handle for the left hand by whichl it is held at the desired height. The right hand operates a'crank for actuating theV cutting mechanism. Both of these types are onlyv supported by the hand of the operator without anyassistance from the arm. I overcome these objections by substantially supporting the weight of the trimmer from the shoulder and the arm, leaving the left hand free to tilt the trimmer as'desired and the right hand free to rotate the crank to operate `the cutting bar. The weight of the trimmer is principally supported by the shoulder portion of the operators arm and -the position of the. trimmer in an up-and-down and in an in-and-out relation is separately'controlled by a hand grip forminga part of the arm support.

IA showthe cooperation of a conventional grinder that maybe attached to the trimmer and detached' therefrom as desired for use elsewhere. The relation of the grinder to the other mechanism is not aggregative because any equivalent driving mechanism will serve the same purpose. It is the adaptability of an attachable and detachable crank plate secured to the end of the emery wheel spindle that makes the associated speed` increase feature of conventional grinders available without incurring any separate cost for the manufacturing of these parts.

The arm support to which the hedge trimmer is pivotally attached comprises a trough-like member 2l. 1t has sides 4|. At its upper end there is a retaining'strap, or arm band 25. This may be provided with a buckle. Toward the lower end of the arm support there is a round handgrip 22 under which all the fingers of the operators hand pass while the thumb is above it. At the lower end of the arm support it is pivoted to a U-shaped member 20 to which the sides 4l are pivoted at 28. On the U-shaped support 20 a plate 8 is secured. To this plate the sickle barl is attached, and at one side of the plate a block I8 is secured. This block serves to position the grinder which rests on it by feet 43 and it is clamped by the projection I9 and screw 40.

The angular relation of the trimmer portion to the arm support may be changed as desired by reason of a spring-like connection 23 that is in pivotal relation to the plate 8 by a hinge 5. The

outer Aend of this connection has a wing nut Il that passes through a slot 24 for holding the arm Ainverted rabbeted support in diierent angular positions in relationV to the trimming mechanism.

' The trimming mechanism This comprises a lower bar I called the sickle bar, It is secured to the plate 8. Above the sickle bar there is a knife bar 2. As shown in Fig. 3 the knives 1 are-integrally formed with an' upstanding flange and the sickles 6 are similarly. B oth ex-'f pedients secure stiffness and rigidity of'the parts.

The sickles 6 andthe knives 1, for cutting pur-H poses are quite close together, vyet in anti-friction,

formed with an upstanding flange.

kII/. These bearings are sickle the underside the knives V38' are secured byl liv- Similarly the bar I has'an ets`44 orotherwise. n i Y iront edge or offsetf46 on which-the sickles 39 are attached by rivets orv otherwise." The sickles Ii or 39 may have serrated edges 26 to hold leaves and twigs from slid ing out when the` knives 38 engage them.

'The driving mechanism 2rides on top of the balls. y

` ber, an .adjustable arm support therefor, a cutting member reciprocatable adjacent the sickle This as stated,m2 y comprise a conventional household grinderv or itsA equivalent. It includes an emery wheel I2, a gear box I3 and a hand crank I4, l The emery wheel is secured to a spindle 29 and the handcrank is securedv to a spindie 42. 'Ihese spindles are interconnected conventionally by gears in the gear box I3.

The knife bar'2 is reciprocated-by a link I0 pivoted to an upstanding angle36 at 9; The other end of the link I is easily attached to and detached from the crank pin II. This pin projects from an attachable and detachable crank plate 2,1 that is secured onthe spindle 28 by a nut 35- or otherwise. In orderl that a crank plate maybe adapted to different diameters ofthe emery wheel spindle 29 I may use the-expedient shown in Fig. '7. vIn this the plate 21 is` substituted by a plate 34. It has Va V-shaped opening 3Ifand a front plate 30 has an oppositely Vformed V-shaped opening 32. The plate 30 is slidable on the plate 34 and the extent of this shift is controlled by screwsr 41 in slots 33. The two oppositely formed Vis center the plates.Y

The high speed of the emery wheel I2 and the Y relatively slow speedof the handle I4 produces a very rapid reciprocation of the knives past the underneath sickles, thus securing a rapidity of action that is far superior Vto any system of vhand levers or direct intermeshing gears which cannotproduce an increase of speed at the cutting edges over the speed of hand operation.

The' relation of the ball bearing grooves I5 positioned in'two separate rows are shown in Figs.v l vand 4 and thepsition of the retainingscrews 3 approximately midway between the two sepa` rate rowsvof ball bearings is important. This arrangement of parts'insuresthat the parallell ismfbetween the sickles and the knives will be retained on, the same horizontal plane thus avoiding any tendency'oi the -respective bars twisting in relation to each other a's the knife bar'is reciprocatcd.` Y'

What I claim is:

1. A hedge trimmer comprising a sickle member, an adjustable arm support therefor, a. cutting member reciprocatable adjacent the sickle member,y attachable and detachable driving means for actuating the cutting member, and means for xedly and adjustably holding said vcutting means in different angular positions to the arm support, Y 2. A hedge trimmer comprising a sickle memmember, attachable and detachable differential driving means for actuating the cutting member, l

means for `flxedly holding the cutting means in different angular positions to the arm support, said driving means imparting rapid reciprocation of the knife bar through a relatively slow initial movement ofjthe driving mechanism.

3. A-hedge Y trimmer *comprising trimming means, an adjustable arm support for said means, means `forproducing rapid to and from motion,

.of the trimming means, and means for changing j and holding the arm support in dierent angular positiensfto the trimming means.

4. A hedge trimmer comprislng afstationary sickle'member, a reciprocating cutting member,

a conventional attachable and detachable grinder supported bythe sicklemember, an attachable and detachable crank plate adjustable on and secured to the grinding wheel spindle, and an attachable and detachable link connecting the crank plateto the reciprocating cutting means. 5. A hedge trimmer comprising a stationary sickle member, a reciprocating cutting member, a conventional attachable and detachable grinder supported by the sickle member, an adjustably attachable and ,detachable crank plate secured to the'spindle of the grinding wheel,A an attachable and detachable link connecting the crank plate tothe reciprocating cutting means, an arm supportfor the vcutting and driving mechanism,

and vmeans for changing the angular relation l of the arm support to the trimming mechanism. Y 6. In hedge trimmers a stationary sickle member, a reciprocating cutting member in adjacent relation tothe sickle membena plurality of antifriction bearings between the two members in separaterows and in spaced apartv longitudinal relation, and retaining means forthe two members positioned approximately midway of the two separate groups of anti-friction bearings whereby sidewise tilting of the cutting memberin relationto the sickle member is prevented.

7. In hedge trimmers -a fly-wheel driving mechanism, a trimming mechanism, connections therebetween, an adjustable crank plate onthe driving mechanism, and means for securing the crank plate tothe spindle of the driving mechanismin an adaptable manner to accommodate diierent diameters ofthe driving spindle.

8. A hedge trimmer comprising a reciprocating cutting f member, av non-reciprocating cutting member, attachable and detachable means supported on the non-reciprocating member foractuating the reciprocating member, an adjustable arm support pivoted to the non-reciprocatingk rocating member to the pivoted varm support as desired.

EDWARD GRAL/IPS. y 

